Archives For
urban outfitters

Yesterday, I posted out all the silly/quaint/fanciful items that I keep around my house to make me smile. Today, I’ve rounded up some awesomely hilarious/sweet/odd items that can be used to add a little whimsy to your home’s style. Here we go!

Holla! I love this doormat because in my head I just keep thinking “Holla atcha gurl!” It is way too expensive (in my opinion) at $50 but you should DIY this and send me a picture. (here)

I pinned this tissue box like a year ago and it still makes me laugh when I see it. The best part? It’s only $4.99! Amazingly cheap. Plus, if you have a tissue box cover you don’t have to worry about buying the cute expensive tissue boxes, you can just get the cheap ugly boxes. Win-win! (here)

I think faux animal heads are probably on their way out as far as trends go, but I still think they are pretty funny. The smaller ones are $28 and bigger ones are $58, but I bet you can find them even cheaper if you look hard enough. (here

This is also something I pinned a while ago that still makes me laugh. It’s toast coasters! Hilarious! Is $14 expensive for coasters? I don’t know but I think it may be worth it to have these lying around. (here)

I love this glass head from Pier 1. It is beautiful but also odd. I can picture her on a stack of books or on an open shelf. Here for $19.95.

These are hilarious. Probably too juvenile for a grown woman to have in her home but if you have kids or an immature boyfriend by all means, get these. Here for $29.00.

I love this for two reasons 1) its a glass Ziploc bag which is funny and 2) it’s a candy bowl and we should bring back candy dishes. In college my roommate and I had a candy bowl and it was awesome. Here for $17.50.

This bookends are so silly. I think it would be funny to have a row of very serious books and then cap them off with such a whimsical balloon animal. Here for $39.95.

Tea towels are another easy way to bring whimsy into your home. My personal favorite is this dog walker tea towel from Fishs Eddy for $12.95 here.

Skeptical about adding whimsy? These bird knobs are the perfect way to subtly add charm to a piece of traditional furniture. They are $7.98 here.

If I had to describe my design aesthetic it would be “vintage modern with a touch of whimsy.” Quite a mouthful, uh? I’ve talked a lot about thrifting and antiquing but I haven’t talked so much about the ‘whimsy’ aspect. If you know me then you know I’m obsessed with miniatures. It’s uncontrollable. If you show me something tiny I will just start giggling and cooing like I’m insane. My love of whimsical things is almost to that level. What do I mean by whimsical? Let me show you!

Here is my biggest piece of whimsy:

No one needs a Union Jack dresser but I’m love with it. I wanted a dresser to put my TV on (more on dressers as TV stands here and where I got the dresser here). I could have gotten any old dresser off of craigslist, but why not get one with a huge bold statement painted all over it? It is by far the piece that is most noticed and complimented in my house.

Gallery walls are the perfect place to add in touches of whimsy. My gallery walls (more on them here and here) are a mixture of art, objects, and photos, most of which are pretty normal and pleasing to the eye. But there are two places where I just let my whimsy go wild.

Why yes, that is a little child smoking. It’s a fake cigarette and it’s hilarious. It makes me smile every time I see it. Most people don’t look close enough to see it but those who do are taken aback and that’s my favorite reaction to evoke in people (insert maniacal laughter).

My Mom bought me this little pink sombrero when she was in Mexico and I love it (hello, it’s miniature!). One day it occurred to me that I should hang it on the wall and so I did. Honorable mention for whimsy goes to Bob in his graduation cap. (Excuse the night pictures… it is always dark when I’m home so I’m working with what I got.)

Kitchen accessories can be fanciful too. I love my matryoshka measuring cups! They look like regular ol’ nesting dolls until you open them up and realize that they are 1 cup, 1/2 cup, 1/3 cup, etc. Functional and funny is always a winning combination in my book! (You can buy them here)

I love my Buddha lamp (where I got it here). I guess I shouldn’t laugh at other people’s god, but it’s funny because it’s a lamp.

Some whimsical things serve no purpose but to make you smile. Like this tiny ceramic paper plane which just sits around all day being adorable. Please note what’s in the picture frame… it is the single funniest thing that has ever been given to me in the history of my life. When my youngest brother was eight he sent this letter to me, he had just learned ‘text’ language, the translation is this: “Hey Sis! Laugh out loud my friend.” Straight up hilarious.

I think my inordinate amount of Alice in Wonderland stuff may qualify as fanciful material, but you didn’t hear that from me.

The open shelving in my kitchen is very functional, but I couldn’t help but add this sweet little pig that I DIYed (here).

So that’s my case for artfully blending in items with a sense of whimsy. Don’t take your home’s style too seriously.

Tomorrow I’ll be back with a round up of some very whimsical and inexpensive (you know how I do) items that will add a touch of whimsy to any home.

I love Chicago and one of the benefits of moving back to the midwest is that now I am only a few short hours away. As I mentioned here, I went on an architectural river cruise this past weekend when I was there. The thing I was looking forward to most was getting a good up close view of my absolute favorite two buildings in the US, Marina City. The towers were designed by Bertrand Goldberg and built in 1964.

So beautiful! I’ve been in love with these buildings since Wilco’s Yankee Hotel Foxtrot album came out in 2001.

I was so inspired by these buildings and all I could think while I was looking at them is how trendy the scallop pattern is right now. Here some awesome scallop patterned items:

I love this DIY scallop art work from Playing Grown Up. It seems like a really easy project because she just used a large hole punch on different colored paper and then layered the pieces over top of each other until she got this scalloped look. Love!

This scallop stencil from Royal Design Studio is so bold. I think it would look awesome and trippy in small space like an entry or bathroom.

I shared this scallop rug from Urban Outfitters in this post, but it fits here too. Such a great rug and it comes in several colors like this bold green and a more neutral grey.

I love this colorful print by Steven Womack sold on Society6. If you aren’t crafty enough to DIY the art above you can buy this lovely print for $15 and save yourself the headache!

If you aren’t ready to make a commitment to the scallops trend you could opt for something less permanent like this sparkly gold scallop garland from StephanieLovesBen. This would be adorable at any party or in a kids room (heck it would look cool in a living room if you styled it right!).

So are you in or out with the scallop pattern?

Also, thanks for your patience while I was away. In the past month I’ve been to Phoenix, Chicago, and DC they were all great trips, but I am happy to report that I am back in Indy for the rest of the calendar year so there shouldn’t be any further interruptions with my posts. Thanks for hanging in there!

As I shared yesterday, I have two rugs in my bedroom now. The zig zag rug was purchased from Overstock.com for $80 about 10 months ago.

It is a very low pile rug which I don’t mind. It’s a bold statement for a low price. I get tired of rugs after a few years so I don’t want to feel too bad when I get rid of them. The first rug I ever bought was the pod rug from CB2. It was expensive to me at around $250.

It is a great quality rug which I still have (it’s hanging in the second bedroom) but since it is wool it shed everywhere which was annoying. I now prefer weaved or low pile rugs, this works in my favor since those are much cheaper rugs… but they aren’t comfortable or cozy really, so it comes down to a preference thing. The rug in my living room is the Stockholm Rand rug from IKEA which costs $299 but I got it for $50 in the ‘As Is’ section.

I love that rug, unfortunately is pretty dirty now, but I think I just need to get a carpet cleaner and it will be fine. So that is my rug run down. I would love to eventually add a runner in my kitchen and a rug in my dining room so here are some rugs that I found online that are both affordable and cool.

Gradiated Stripe Cotton Dhurrie by West Elm, the 5’x8′ is only $99. This rug is great and it comes in blue and orange as well. West Elm is pretty high end stuff so this rug should be good quality. If I ever replace my Stockholm Rand in my living room I’ll probably replace it with something like this since the 8’x10′ (the size I really need in my living room) is only $229.

Bemba Printed Jute Rug by West Elm, 5’x8′ is $199. This rug is a little pricey for me, but for rugs in general it is cheap. I like this print even though it doesn’t fit with the style of any of my rooms currently.

Kodlby Cowhide by IKEA for $199. I have wanted a cowhide rug since I was a kid (I was a weird kid) and IKEA’s cowhides are a great price. My parent’s have this one and I’m super jealous. Cowhides can run from $400-$700 so $199 is great price (although I can’t speak for the humane treatment of the cows used for these rugs).

Alvine Ruta rug by IKEA, $249. I think this rug is lovely. It has that sort of hard Aztec vibe but in such a cheery yellow it would look great in any room.

Lappljung Ruta rug by IKEA, $69.99. This rug is a weird shape, it a 7’x7′ square instead of the traditional rectangle shape. I love this pattern. Like the rug before it has that aztec feel and in black and white it is very bold and hard, which is totally my thing.

Honeycomb area rug by Target, $159. This rug also comes in black and white, but this olive and grey is so moody that I love it.

Asilah Sahara rug by Target, $199. This rug isn’t my particular style but it is so beautiful and fancy that it would look great if your style is more soothing neutral colors (as opposed to my more graphic saturated color palette).

Hand Woven Wool Twist rug by Target, $143. I wish I could show you a close up of this rug because this rug looks like a sweater up close (click the link and you’ll see). I’m in love with this rug and I wish I had the money and space for it.

Zig Zag rug by Urban Outfitters, 5’x7′ is $89. This rug comes in tons of colors (black, teal, yellow, etc) and it is from a respectable brand. What I love about this rug is that it is such a trendy pattern for a low price. When/if this pattern goes out of style you won’t have invested hundreds of dollars (this was my thought process behind the zig zag rug in my bedroom).

Herringbone rug by Urban Outfitters, 5’x7′ for $89. I love a good herringbone pattern! This rug is awesome and I love it in this bright navy blue. This rug also comes in many colors including gold and coral.

Scallop rug by Urban Outfitters, 5’x7′ for $89. Does this scallop rug look familiar? Well, if you read Young House Love then you will recognize it as the rug they have in their kitchen (in grey). I personally love it in this green.

I love my shower curtain. I chose this grey and white* stripe shower curtain from West Elm for $39.

I love this shower curtain. It has held up well and it was a good price. I know you can buy an $8 shower curtain at Walmart but I fell in love with this one. West Elm still has this shower curtain. It comes in grey, yellow, and navy.

If you’re in the market for a new shower curtain I’ve taken the liberty of online window shopping for you. Enjoy 🙂